Seniors

The population of seniors is growing and changing in our region. People are living longer with multiple and complex comorbidities, resulting in greater health care needs. Consequently, there is increased pressure on caregivers, communities and our health care system to effectively and efficiently meet the demands of the new frail seniors.

Acknowledging seniors care as a focus, the North West LHIN developed a comprehensive plan that identifies the stakeholder perspective of the current state of services for seniors and identifies priorities for new or expanded services over the next three years. It validates the data generated by the Local Area Service Plan (LASP) 2013, and it provides a qualitative context upon which to interpret the data and plan for and prioritize services in each Local Health Hub (LHH). Centred on the key services of Long-term Care (LTC), Assisted Living Services (ALS) and Community Support Services (CSS), the plan identifies pressure points for care and service within the LHH which can be used to prioritize the need for new or expanded services as funding opportunities are identified.

A variety of community engagement processes were used to identify the unique realities and socioeconomic trends experienced by communities and the impact of these on the ability of seniors to successfully age at home.